can you increase the amount you borrow? Forum

[941law]

I was told that you can't borrow past what your school has calculated as total "cost of attendance" (coa), but what if it falls short? can you increase the amount if you notify grad-plus?

[rinkrat19]

I've heard of people MAYBE being able to get a little more money if they have legitimate expenses (like childcare) above the estimated cost of attendance. They go through their school's FinAid office. But no, you can't just get more money for the asking because you want to buy a car or you just can't follow a budget. It's not an unlimited ATM.

[pinkcamellia]

I was told that you can't borrow past what your school has calculated as total "cost of attendance" (coa), but what if it falls short? can you increase the amount if you notify grad-plus?

The COA is usually way more than what you need. They have a lot of stuff built-in that you may not use. For example, I did not need new laptop, which they had budgeted around $1600 for. I wouldn't worry about it.

[941law]

I've heard of people MAYBE being able to get a little more money if they have legitimate expenses (like childcare) above the estimated cost of attendance. They go through their school's FinAid office. But no, you can't just get more money for the asking because you want to buy a car or you just can't follow a budget. It's not an unlimited ATM.

My drinking habit does not like this post.

[bostonlawchick]

Yeah, you can only do it through your school's fin aid office- you cannot go directly through Grad Plus. They will generally not do this for something trivial, and will really want you to justify why you aren't able to stick to the budget they lay out in their cost of living breakdown. Childcare is one thing they'll usually do it for. Our financial aid office told me they could probably do it for me if I couldn't get my private UG loans deferred.

[rad lulz]

I've heard of people MAYBE being able to get a little more money if they have legitimate expenses (like childcare) above the estimated cost of attendance. They go through their school's FinAid office. But no, you can't just get more money for the asking because you want to buy a car or you just can't follow a budget. It's not an unlimited ATM.

My drinking habit does not like this post.

Mouthwash is cheap bro

[pinkcamellia]

I've heard of people MAYBE being able to get a little more money if they have legitimate expenses (like childcare) above the estimated cost of attendance. They go through their school's FinAid office. But no, you can't just get more money for the asking because you want to buy a car or you just can't follow a budget. It's not an unlimited ATM.

My drinking habit does not like this post.

Mouthwash Hand sanitizer is cheap bro

FTFY